The suspense is wearable with ABN Amro payments pilot
Gets testy with new wearables (Source: ABN Amro)
ABN Amro is taking the next step in testing new wearables as a payment method with 500 of its clients.
After prior internal tests in 2017, the Dutch bank says clients can now experience what it’s like to make contactless payments with a ring, watch, bracelet or keyring.
Payments are linked to a current account and as from this week, sign-ups are open for clients to participate in a four-month pilot. In exchange for providing the wearables, the bank requests feedback through an app.
Yvonne Duits, ABN Amro product owner payments, says: “As much as 50% of all payments in the Netherlands are contactless. But the rise of contactless payment doesn’t stop at bank cards and mobile phones. More and more products have payment through near field communication (NFC) enabled, so naturally we’re eager to test this method with our clients.”
The bank adds that it worked closely with Mastercard and London-based paytech firm Digiseq, to get the products to “meet all requirements for reliable and safe payments”.
Fair enough
Also this week, ABN Amro reveals that an interdisciplinary consortium of companies (Sustainable Finance Lab, Circle Economy, Fairphone, PGGM, ING, ABN Amro, NBA, Allen & Overy and Circularise) published a whitepaper with solutions for the development of a Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) business model.
Together, these companies have created a “cost-effective” PaaS model for the modular smartphone Fairphone. The whitepaper, which is on the bank’s website, provides readers with all the details of the companies’ learnings and creations, including open source contract templates and a cash flow tool.
ABN Amro says: “Most circular businesses have business models that focus on use and service rather than ownership. In the absence of a proof of concept, it is often hard to make an assessment of risks and opportunities, which banks need to create an appropriate financing solution.”
